..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Weekend Estimates
Curb Your Enthusiasm?
When an audience is thirsting for a movie it's not difficult to rope them into theaters and Americans were hot under the collar for Anger Management. The comic pairing of Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson exploded with an estimated $45.2 million, drawing in close to half of weekend movie goers and setting records for, among other things, the top gross for an April release.
However, apart from niche and specialized fare that included the American indie Better Luck Tomorrow and James Cameron's large screen Ghosts of the Abyss, the rest of the marketplace was extremely lackluster. Overall business - approaching roughly $100 million for the frame - was up a slim 5% from seven days earlier and just 2% ahead of 2002 when the debut of Changing Lanes led the field with $17 million.
The bow of Anger Management dispelled any sense that the public was too depressed or consumed with the Iraqi conflict to seek an entertaining diversion. The reason business has been flagging can clearly be placed on the shoulders of the generally mediocre fare in the marketplace and that cancelled out any possibility of a significant boost in attendance.
Last weekends four freshmen collectively generated $38.5 million and this weekend experienced a 212% drop in business that could not be overcome by a single picture.
The only other film to bow nationally was Lions Gate's acquisition of the gore fest House of a 1000 Corpses. Originally set by Universal, the directing debut of Rob Zombie was orphaned by the studio following its completion. Lions Gate smartly limited its exposure and generated solid per screens and a $3.7 million weekend. Still, it won't linger long in movie houses.
The weekend's other great surprise was the MTV production Better Luck Tomorrow, a tale of reckless youth set among Asian American students that's been drawing heat since its Sundance debut. The film grossed close to $400,000 from 13 screens and a $30,000 theater average. Targeted specifically to a youth crowd, it eluded mainstream trackers consumed by higher profile fare.
Paramount Classics' marketing chief David Dinerstein likened the response to Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It and noted that initial exits indicate the film's opening weekend audience was 60% Asian. The film will add dates in 12 cities next week.
Though Disney was unable to provide an estimate for James Cameron's 3-D large format Ghosts of the Abyss, anecdotal information conservatively puts its debut at $1.3 million. The only other limited launch was IFC's comedy drama XX/XY with about a $17,000 box office at five locations.
While mainstream holdover fare continued to experience sharp drops, a number of specialized titles including Fox Searchlight's Bend It Like Beckham and The Good Thief, Zeitgeist's Nowhere in Africa and UA's Assassination Tango have managed to build on good reviews and word of mouth to sustain on going interest and box office.
Weekend Estimates - April 11-13, 2003
Title Anger Management - 3551 45.2 Phone Booth -50% 2489 26.6 What a Girl Wants -43% 2964 20.2 Bring Down the House -45% 2830 117.7 A Man Apart -61% 2495 18.1 Head of State -54% 2256 30.9 House of 1000 Corpses - 595 3.9 Chicago -34% 2114 157 The Core -50% 3019 25.5 Basic -58% 2240 23.9 Agent Cody Banks -55% 2007 42.5 The Pianist -34% 842 28.1 Piglet's Big Movie -49% 1859 19 Bend It Like Beckham 18% 216 4.3 Ghosts of the Abyss - 97 1.3 Dreamcatcher -55% 1401 32.2 The Hunted -62% 1090 33.4 Old School -57% 586 73.9 How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days -42% 527 103.2 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films)- - % Change (Last Year) - % Change (Last Week) - Also Debuting/Expanding Better Luck Tomorrow - 13 0.38 The Good Thief 174% 61 0.55 Nowhere in Africa -14% 55 1.5 Assassination Tango 5% 33 0.35 XX/XY 5 0.02 Top Domestic Grossers - January 1- April 10, 2003
Title Chicago * Lord of the Rings - Two Towers * Bringing Down the House How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Catch Me If You Can * Daredevil Old School Kangeroo Jack About Schmidt * Shanghai Knights Top Canadian Grossers - January 1- April 10, 2003
Title Lord of Rings - Two Towers * Chicago * Catch Me If You Can * How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Daredevil About Schmidt * The Gangs of New York * Bringing Down the House Old School Just Married * does not include 2002 box office Distributor (titles) Buena Vista (15) Miramax (14) New Line (6) Paramount (9) DreamWorks (6) Warner Bros. (9) Fox (6) Sony (11) MGM (10) Focus (3) Universal (5) Fox Searchlight (4) IFC (3) Others * (82) Domestic Market Share - January 1- April 10, 2003
Distributor (titles) Buena Vista (15) Miramax (14) New Line (6) Paramount (9) DreamWorks (6) Warner Bros. (9) Fox (6) Sony (11) MGM (10) Focus (3) Universal (5) Fox Searchlight (4) IFC (3) Others * (82)
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